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Mystery Surrounds LeGarrette Blount’s Condition

September 10th, 2012

Greg Schiano shed no light on the mystery surrounding LeGarrette Blount. In fact, the leader of the New Schiano Order added to the intrigue at his afternoon news conference today.

Blount was hurt on a play yesterday but walked off the field, and Schiano also was seen barking at Blount what appeared to be coaching, based on hand gestures, during the game. Blount never returned after being shaken up and jogged briskly out the Bucs locker room toward the parking lot before reporters had a chance to talk to him after the game.

Schiano was asked today about Blount’s condition.

“LeGarrette could have gone back in the game,” Schiano said. “I don’t know if we’re all certain on what’s ailing LeGarrette.”

I had a weird moment, when he got up after the injury. He seemed to be doing a dance, a la Deion Sanders…And I couldn’t figure out why he was dancing on such a bad play. I think he got his bell rung, but good.

It appeared to be a cramp in his hamstring the way he was bouncing around. Rocks popping up in your leg muscles are very painful and will bring you to your knees. It was a good idea not putting him back in if that was the case.

I understand why Schiano isn’t forthcoming about injury issues but I wish he wouldn’t use such ambiguous terminology. Not certain whats ailing blount? That makes it sound like theres more than just an injury going on. I personally like Blount. A lot of people like to say get rid of him or we don’t need him but I don’t think there is any question that having him on the team is helpful. He can make plays and I would rather Martin get some breaks now and then instead of shouldering the load.

Still way too tentative running style for me. Based on his three carries yesterday he didn’t look like he merited taking any touches away from Martin, in fact I was glad when Martin was put back in when he went out.

? Schiano’s “coaching/hand gestures” happened before Blount got hurt, telling him to rush harder up the middle (Blount’s m.o. is to take forever to get going but not stop once he does). It looked like Blount had a cramp, though who knows. The real mystery to me is still that “groin injury” from the preseason, where his knee got hit really hard. Too bad, because Blount seemed indestructible the first two years, now not so much.
& isn’t it obvious (& even reported) that Stocker (seemingly worthless as he is) was suffering from post-concussion?

Maybe, Belicheat will swap LGB straight up for Ryan Mallett. LGB even caught the ball well, WTF! Grande guesses you just can’t win when you’re the red headed stepchild from the previous regime.

“Lurker said Schiano was narcissistic, a personality disorder which is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Those with narcissistic personality disorder believe that they’re superior to others and have little regard for other people’s feelings. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism.”

Grande was surprised how well DJ Ware played.

Miguel is not sold on the Peanut 1.0 (Martin) and Peanut 2.0 (Smith) approach long term. You just touch these guys and they go down. Especially on kick offs and goal line situations. Dougie didn’t look too fresh in the 4th quarter. He couldn’t even shake a one handed shirt tackle at the end that should have gone for six.

You just make yourself sound even more stupid when you talk in third person. Congratulations, I didn’t even know that was possible to do. How do you feel being the joke of JBF? Spin it however you want, but that’s what you are.

We are not trading LGB! Yes he needs to hit the hole quicker, but the guy is the perfect 1-2 punch and there is NO way that we put all the carries on Martin’s shoulders! He looked to have some kind of cramps and the coaching staff probably didn’t want to re-aggreviate whatever he was going through.

As far as Blount goes, really curious to see how his situation plays out. If it was a cramp that early in the game and Schiano felt he didn’t hydrate properly and was hurting the team, I could see the coach being pissed about that. If it was the fact he didn’t hit the whole with authority and he was still a liability in pass pro (both of which have supposedly been issues in the past), then I think this might resolve itself sooner rather than later, especially if Blount is taking a negative attitude with being 2nd string.

I thought at first the way Blount did his little dance he got his bell rung. Then I see him clutching his hamstring. No idea what is going on. I would love to see him and Martin get used like the old W-D 40 days. Martin getting the main carries and Blount coming in to finish off a tired defense.

@Mark, thats exactly what I was thinking when they said he didnt have an injury but didnt return to the game.

I like Blount just as much as the next fan but I have a strange feeling they kept him out because they are trying to trade him and want him healthy. I dont agree with it but I think its going to happen.

I watched that play over and over, there was no cramp. He got knocked senseless, literally. He had the will to move, but his brain wouldn’t let his body do it. Punch drunk if you will. I understand why Schiano is secretive, but when it’s obvious what happened ON TV, to play dumb is foolish. The NFL is watching and head injuries\concussions are to be fooled with or feel the wrath of Goodell.

Schiano was gesturing Blount alright, TO HIT THE HOLE. He dances too much. That’s why Martin is and always will be the bell cow, health willing. He has good vision, makes a cut and goes. Blounts takes 2 seconds to decide and then the defense is on him. If a hole is not there, Blount rarely succeeds and is average at best…just watch. I like the dude, but he’s nothing more than a backup. Sorry.

I never in a million years thought we would get rid of Blount, but I’m definitely back pedaling a little now. If Ware continues to play well, where does Blount fit in? Obviously he provides depth, but I don’t know if he’s going to have the attitude willing to just be depth. I don’t know him, so I may be way off base, but it doesn’t seem to be going well right now. Fact is, he hasn’t looked good in preseason, nor in his few carries yesterday. Obviously that’s a small sample size, but he looks more hesitant to hit the hole than ever, when it should be the exact opposite (this being his third year). I’m worried this isn’t going to end well. If we do get rid of him, we better all pray Martin stays healthy.

I think the gruesome looking knee injury he got a few weeks ago was heavily down played. I think LGB is trying to play through it so he doesn’t loose full out to all the RB’s. IE you can’t make the club if your always in the tub. But he hasn’t been right since that game.

It is either the lingering injury or his ego is severely bruised when he lost his starting spot to Martin, which could also have him mentally checked out. I hope it is the injury and not an attitude problem. Personally i am a huge fan of Blount.

@941-Bucs, I forgot about that injury. It is entirely possible that injury is still nagging and he is keeping it to himself in fear of losing carries or being cut/traded.

I was always a Blount supporter but I just dont know anymore. I agree that he still hesitates WAY too much at the line. Its seems like something that should be very coachable but apparently it is not. If he is traded I think it happens this week or not at all. we will see.

I keep seeing on PFT where they are saying Blount was benched because he missed a block… Blount DID NOT miss a block… he blocked the blitzer straight up and got pushed back a little bit.

CLEARLY Schiano was telling him on the sideline that he wanted Blount to cut block the blitzing defender, which he did not.

Personally, I didn’t have a major problem with Blount, not cut blocking the blitzer as he is big enough to take on a LB head-to-head and cut blocking is only effective if the QB gets rid of the ball on time because a cut defender can usually get up and get pressure by the time the QB is scanning for his 2nd or 3rd option. The block was decent, not great, but that was clearly was Schiano was talking to Blount about.

Mallet is a starter in Miguel’s world because he looked good against our second and third stringers. Miguel like’s people from Arkansas. He still believes Arkansas State is a very good college football team. Isn’t that right Miguel?

There’s no doubt Blount is going to be traded. The writing is on the wall. Pulling Martin out in the 1st was his last shot to prove he could do anything. Ware was signed as his replacement. LG just cant hit a hole.

My two cents is that Schiano was originally going to do a 2-2-1 rotation with Martin and Blount, but Blount either got injured (I thought it was funny at first, but as I was realizing what (allegedly) happened I felt really bad for him.) or Schiano was really pissed at him for not hitting the hole or as Brandon said, Schiano wanted him to cut block. I don’t think we should trade Blount, but stranger things have happened and at this pace Martin is on pace for almost 500 touches, I don’t see any player, even the Muscle Hamster, holding up in the long term at that pace.

We have no proven RB yet, even if Martin got over 1000 yards it wouldn’t mean anything without consistency and doing it again the next year. People hate so much on Blount. They say last year Blount didn’t do so good, well lets see you didn’t use him as much, They say he can’t be a 3rd down back, they have never tried to develop him. We had Caddy his first year and Graham and Lumpkin his 2nd. Blount isn’t going anywhere right now, Ware played good and gives a Veteran body out there, but he’s never been proven and Blount kills his stats only in 1 year then his whole 6 years in the nfl.

Haters going to hate and all this trade talk, we’re not going to get nothing good for him if he keeps getting hated on. Can’t hit the hole, ca’t block’ can’t catch were pointing all his downfalls to everyone. We’d get a 5th round, unless someone is desperate then mabey a 3rd. Better to keep him, more value.

First let me say that I like Schiano and I like what he is doing with this team. But his statement regarding Blount’s condition today appeared to intentionally open the door to conjecture.

As HC he should know the condition of a player or the player is under evaluation and when it is known, he can make a definitive statement. To say that I don’t think we are all certain of what is wrong with Blount leaves one to fill in the blanks with either logical or illogical reasons and I’ve heard both today.

I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he did not mean to send a nefarious message. He is always somewhat nebulous with the media and I assume this was another instance of that. Otherwise, it was an unfortunate choice of words for the situation regardless of what it really is.

You are terrible at comprehending. I said if we do get rid of Blount, we better hope Martin stays healthy. That means its a big risk. I personally am not at all in favor of trading Blount. I do, however, understand the reasoning.

As for Arkansas, again you struggle comprehending. I’ll say it for you: Arkansas State is not a good college team as you claim, at least not compared to the big time teams. You made the completely embarrassing statement a couple weeks ago that they were. They were, however, able to narrowly defeat the might Memphis football team Saturday, so maybe they’ve got a chance at a BCS bowl game. I even asked you to name the teams in their conference, which you couldn’t do. Ryan Mallet sucks too, FYI. Is that clear enough for you?

Schiano statement does not decrease or lower the achievement of the team collectively. As a matter of fact it is antics like running out from the media after a big win that makes his status questionable which is more telling of why Schiano may have taken the corporate statement route. How could a player on 10 game losing streak team not be excited to soundly defeat your arch rival? Sounds childish and selfish to me on Blounts behalf and Coach is still human so he too will express himself.

Blount can’t feel too good about the gameplan and his behavior made it worse.

We need all four backs and Blount needs to do the work as instructed and take his turns as they come. Problem is holes are not always gaping but good backs only need a sliver of daylight to get through and Blount too often just runs into the back of his linemen and not next to them. Blount is only effective in space, but it he can’t get there wtf? I truly am starting to think he has a mental block.

Brandon…How was it clear to you what the conversation between Shiano and Blount was from hand jestures? Just curious, they shoul hire you to watch the body language of theother team, so you can call their plays before they run them.

I used to just come through and read post and arguments, but I had to comment on Miguel’s last post. I do not understand his reasoning for some of the things he say, but the that was borderline retarded. I do not like to call someone that, but an idiot can see that our defense needed major help from last year.
I’m glad your not GM because Chip Kelly would have not scored 40 because the gimmick plays he run in college would not work in the NFL. He beat teams with a fast offense and teams will pick that up like most NFL teams do and shut it down. If he even scored 40 on offense the defense would of been the same from last year and would of gave up 49.

No Sneedy16, you are forgetting that his wife and daughters enjoy the games at Oregon. They also like the uniforms and the cheer leaders. He said Arkansas State feels they can compete with Oregon, or they wouldn’t have scheduled them. He said they are better because they have a senior QB, while Oregon has a freshman QB. I’m not making that up, that’s exactly what he said a couple weeks back. I couldn’t come up with something that stupid.

My theory is that Blount showed some strange syptoms, and since Martin was running hot they decided to take no chances.

It amazes me how people are turning on Blount so quickly. Martinn had a good first game and you guys act like he’s god’s gift. One game does not a great player make. Martin will have bad days and good days. Same goes for Blount.

And if Martin getsxa season ending injury in the next game would you all still want to trade Blount? I would guess not. Which means we need him more than a trade is worth.

So how about people show a little loyalty to these players and root for them beyond a one game performance? If Martin has a bad game you people will turn on him in a heartbeat.

The more you speak the less credible you make yourself Miguel. Chip Kelly and Kalil… I suppose you are absolutely fine with the porous defense we had than. Good thing Chip Kelly was a coward and was too scared to take the job than right?

Those audacious Red Wolves from Arkansas State bamboozled ESPN and Nebraska into a another nationally televised game on Saturday. I guess since Nebraska lost to a PAC12 team also this Big10-SB matchup is probably even money.

I guess winning their conference last year got them all uppity. ULM from the Sunbelt Conference just knocked off #8 Arkansas from the SE conference. Isn’t that the conference that usually wins the BCS?

God, I just hope Jeff Faine doesn’t make the Pro Bowl. That would be embarrassing.

“I guess since Nebraska lost to a PAC12 team also this Big10-SB matchup is probably even money.”

———-

Heh? Are you snacking on some hemp right now? It’s worthless arguing with you because you have absolutely no knowledge of how college athletics works (or how pro football works for that matter). I prefer arguing with Thomas, because at least he can talk out of his arse enough to look like he knows what he’s talking about.

It’s not so conspiratorial. Blount was in for pass protection and his assignment was to cut down the pass rusher at the knees. Instead, the DE side stepped the block, Blount missed the assignment, and that’s the play the DE tipped the ball and almost got Freeman picked off. After that, Blount was barely in there for a couple plays and never got back in.
Blount has been a liability in pass protection and blitz pickup for three years now. Schiano WONT put up with it.

Just had a chance to watch the game. IMHO this O-Line has much work to do if Schiano’s plan is to run the ball. To be quite honest there was no hole for Blount to hit in his 3 attempts. After the catch he was met immediately and managed a 2 yd gain. Still no orgasm over the Hamster for me… yet. I think he did well, much on his own. The fact that a pass was called on 3rd and inches leads me to believe the coaches have little confidence that this O-Line can blow people off scrimmage. IMHO of course.

I don’t think he was critical of Blount in any way when saying Martin beat him out. A blind man could see Martin was the better back of the two, and deserved to start. Schiano even said Blount could always get his job back, even though most of us know that is about as likely as Miguel Grande becoming an NFL GM. That’s not a knock on Blount in any way, just a compliment to Martin.

@1976buc:
I totally agree with you. I wasn’t expecting too much from the right side with Larsen and Trueblood, but I was expecting Penn and especially Nicks to blow the Panthers’ sub par defensive line off the ball, but rarely did it happen. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with the win, but we have to face the Giants defensive line next week, and that scares the crap out of me. Would be a great time for Joseph to me miraculously healed!

Blount seems hesitant initially if the hole is not there. He doesn’t have very good vision, so he struggles in those situations. That doesn’t mean he isn’t a good RB, but that he’s not good in that area. But when he does get past the first level, he’s one of the best backs in the league.

Yes he got 1000 yards as a rookie and he shouldn’t be hated on by fans. That’s ridiculous, and unfortunately far too common with so many fans. Then again, he’s not a complete back, nor is he an all-pro back. I would compare him to the running back version of Jeff Garcia – very good in certain areas, but can’t make all the throws (or runs in Blount’s case). I argued that he was with someone (can’t remember who) a while back, but I was wrong.

I think Blount took a head shot and tried to play it off as a leg cramp so that he could stay in the game. There’s alot on the line right now for Blount and every player in the league now knows how crazy the NFL is about concusions.
As far as Schiano’s hand gesture to Blount as he came off the field, obviously Schiano wasn’t happy about Blount’s pass pro and was instructing him to chop knees.
It is ridiculous to me the way people are attacking Blount. Newsflash, Doug Martin did nothing special on Sunday. I think I saw maybe two runs where he ran through an arm tackle, besides that he got shoe stringed way too much. I understand that Carolina has a hard hitting LB group, but you will rarely see Blount get taken down by one man, let alone getting arm tackled multiple times.
I guess I would just warn to be very careful what you wish for, Martin might turn out to be a very nice little player, but he won’t be able to take the abuse he took against Carolina for a full season. Blount is a horse and he will be missed if he has to sit for a couple weeks.

No idea what the fuss is over. Blount had 3 carries, no way did Schiano just all the sudden come to a conclusion that he’s not a “Buccaners Man” over 3 lousy carries.. Trade him? Lol, thats actually comical.

I vote for a steel cage match between Miguel and Hawaiianbucfan with jerry Lawler refereeing…

Blount needs to get his head right and embrace his roll. If he is concussed or still suffering from knee injury then my bad but it appears he is pouting a bit at least from a distance. Or maybe he simply needs a hug…

Blount will get his few carries a game. If he learns to stop running into our linesmans asses he’ll earn more. Schiano doesn’t do the whole performance carryover nonsense. Every year is a new year for him and a new time to show your worth. Time to step it up and earn it Blount. Whether its on 3 carries or 10. It’s not like holes magically open up for Doug and not for Blount. He attacks and makes things happen. Seems to me like Blounts just peddles around in one spot for a little just waiting for a gaping hole to open and when it’s not obvious he just falls.

Except run for nearly 100 yards in his rookie debut. Not to mention icing the game at the end. He also converted several first downs in short yardage situations. The time he got “rag dolled” was on second down. He should have gotten another chance on third. Oh yeah, not to mention a couple nice catches out of the backfield, including one ridiculous one with Kuechly all over him. Carolina has some excellent, physical LB’s. I guarantee you those “arm tackles” are harder to break than what you think. Everyone says Blount didn’t have holes, show me runs where Martin did. The only difference is Martin hits the hole so damn fast, he’s able to make it through the initial defensive surge. Or maybe you guys think Schiano told the OL not to block as good for Blount, that way he would have an excuse to pull him out.

Just because you guys want to defend Blount, doesn’t mean you have to be ignorant about another Buc. Martin was our best offensive player yesterday, by a mile. Ask Carolina. Blount will have an opportunity, and I hope he does excellent. But if you guys can’t see something special with Martin, then you aren’t watching the same game as the rest of us.

@Rican
You’re right, that was a phenomenal defensive play. It doesn’t negate the fact that Martin failed in the same situation as Blount did in his rookie year when he had a chance to put a game away.
I’m not mad at Martin for failing to score just like I wasn’t mad at Blount at the time, I was just making a smart a$$ point in response to a smart a$$ comment.

@ Hawaiian
Blount and Martin are totally different animals. If Schiano prefers Martin’s quick hit style over Blount’s patient style then so be it. That doesn’t mean that Blount’s style doesn’t work. We’ve all seen it work.
I’m not saying Martin isn’t or won’t be a good player, I’m just trying to figure out when exactly LeGarrette Blount became the worst / most expendable RB in the NFL.

You have your opinion, I have mine. In Martin I see a RB that you burn up while he’s on his rookie contract and then you toss him aside for the next guy. Every team needs a RB like that so that isn’t a bad thing. In my eyes though Blount is a special player with the ball in his hand, God forbid he isn’t the greatest in pass protection, but that’s why you bring in a guy like Martin to take care of third down.
Ultimately I don’t think Blount will get much of a chance with Schiano because I think what Schiano wants out of his running game is exactly what I described Martin as being, which I can learn to live with, but I’m trying to get people to quit unfairly throwing Blount under a bus for something that is out of his hands.

First of all, you have me pegged wrong. I have a Blount jersey and TWO Blount fatheads in my house. You won’t find too many bigger fans of Blount than me. If you read every one of my posts, I always point out that my compliments of Martin are not a shot at Blount. He has a place in this offense, and I would be upset if we got rid of him.

That being said, I see the deficiencies in his game. I’m as big of a homer as you will find, but I’m not blind. He is not a “patient” runner. Nothing could be further from the truth. Patient runners wait for the hole to open up, then hit it a million miles per hour. Have you ever seen Blount do that? Blount is a straight-forward, run you over type back. You are confusing patient with indecisive. If the hole is there, he’s as good as anyone in the league. Problem is, it’s not always there, which is why he has so many negative runs. However, he’s so good when the hole is there, he has to be given the rock. I can’t agree or disagree that he’s a liability in the passing game.

As for Martin, I have always disliked him. Here in Hawaii, we are actually foolish enough to consider Boise State a rival of ours, even though we never beat them. As a result, I don’t like anyone from Boise ( I was glad that Blount punched that guy, and still think he deserved it). But this guy is Ray Rice all over again. You just wait and see. He’s built like a rock

First of all, you have me pegged wrong. I have a Blount jersey and TWO Blount fatheads in my house. You won’t find too many bigger fans of Blount than me. If you read every one of my posts, I always point out that my compliments of Martin are not a shot at Blount. He has a place in this offense, and I would be upset if we got rid of him.

That being said, I see the deficiencies in his game. I’m as big of a homer as you will find, but I’m not blind. He is not a “patient” runner. Nothing could be further from the truth. Patient runners wait for the hole to open up, then hit it a million miles per hour. Have you ever seen Blount do that? Blount is a straight-forward, run you over type back. You are confusing patient with indecisive. If the hole is there, he’s as good as anyone in the league. Problem is, it’s not always there, which is why he has so many negative runs. However, he’s so good when the hole is there, he has to be given the rock. I can’t agree or disagree that he’s a liability in the passing game.

As for Martin, I have always disliked him. Here in Hawaii, we are actually foolish enough to consider Boise State a rival of ours, even though we never beat them. As a result, I don’t like anyone from Boise ( I was glad that Blount punched that guy, and still think he deserved it). Everyone knows I wanted us to draft Trent Richardson. But this guy is Ray Rice all over again. You just wait and see. He’s built like a rock – his body is built to take the punishment of the NFL. He’s quick, fast, explosive, has great vision, runs low to the ground, and is excellent in both pass catching and pass protection. He is also very good in short yardage situations. I don’t want to jinx him, but he is one guy I’m not worried about. He’s the real deal. Everyone is raving about him for a reason.

Ive yet to figure out why all the hate for Blount. He’s been, BY FAR, our most consistant offensive player over the past 2 years, and certainly the most exciting to watch. This guy was an UDFA, who’s paid the minimum. If he were a white guy from Stanford or Wisconsin, he’d already be on par with Alstott. C’mon people ease up on Tanard Jackson was a multiple drug offender, Qiuncy Black is making millions for doing much less than Blount has done. The media seems to need to “hate” on the Bucs for whatever reason, and if the cant hate on Shiano, right now, they’ll hate on someone, and Blount seems to be the guy. Very disappointed in how some, so called fans, are treating one of our most exciting and productive players, although, not surprised by the PATHETIC media.

also. i rewatched all his runs just now, there is no dancing, he hit the whole where it was supposed to be, it wasn’t there, and he bounced it to a gap for 4 yards. he did everything right except the one block he should have hit harder so that the player couldn’t get his hands up.

I believe Thomas is a ventriloquist and Miguel is his bitch puppet. Thomas shoves his arm up inside Miguel and operates Miguel mouth, while spouting off nonsense under his breath. Thomas would make every conversation revolve around him and now he is remotely doing it through his sock puppet Miguel.

LGB only had a few runs before he was hit in the head and yes they were not long runs. But also at that time Martin was getting stuffed also at or behind the line at times. All of Martins runs were not for gains. He had a lot more time in the game. Oh how some of you cry babies loved him when he was dragging people,picking up yards,and gaining 1000 yards. Now he sucks. Trade him. But then then look how you are now. Buc’s are great now after 1 win and your back on the bandwagon. Same way. If Martin Fumbles, or does anything wrong he will suck and you will want him gone too. But you love him today!!!